This is an electric moment where the entire nation if not world thinks of one heart.

An excerpt from President Barack Obama’s statement, sent from the White House:

“Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien — but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit. He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most–from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets.”

Thank you, Robin, so much, from all of us, for everything you gave us. You touched so many of us and helped us to grow up and be genuine.

Robin Williams has passed away. Please join in offering our love and thoughts to Robin Williams and his family. Thank you for everything, Robin!

I heard about Robin Williams just two hours ago. I was on my way into yoga class. I’d taken my phone out to put it on airplane mode, and saw the news alert from the New York Times.

It’s one of those small moments when the fabric of our world as we know it tears.

Without hyperbole, Robin Williams has been a family member for me, and I imagine too for so many of you. His manic humor did not charm me—rather his tender smile fathered me more than perhaps anyone else in the crass culture of Hollywood.

From his wife: Susan Schneider, in a statement, “This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings.” She added: “As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin’s death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions.”

A beautiful tribute. It does feel like the fabric of the world is torn. From Alladin to Mrs. Doubtfire, he shaped my generation's childhood, and with Dead Poets Society he taught us about love and loss. He was one of the good ones. Thank you for this, Waylon!

When I was a kid and my family took our first trip out to Colorado, my twin sister and I made my parents stop our rented van in Boulder—because we wanted to visit where Mork & Mindy was set. Great, inclusive piece.

It took me a few minutes to digest the news when I first saw it (I literally yelled out "WHAT THE FUCK???!!!") His death brought to mind a quote I'd seen recently about being kind to everyone you meet, because they may be fighting battles you know nothing about. If ever there was an example of this, it's the tragic loss of an incredibly talented human being, and talented in so many respects, not just with respect to his acting/comedy genius. Even knowing, as so many did, of his battles with addiction and depression, his suicide just once again proves that you just truly never know what's going on behind someone's eyes. A sad day for all who knew him, or simply loved him from afar because of his comedy/acting. RIP Robin, I can't imagine there will ever be another one quite like you …

I wish he could have conquered his demons. A selfish thought really because his being gave so many of us calm, mirth and so much food for thought. Now with his passing the world is a poorer place for the rest of us to live in. R.I.P. Robin. I’m so glad I was alive in your lifetime, just wish you were still alive in mine.

Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day. ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet